walter dietrich samuel



introduction: welcome to calvary albuquerque.we pursue the god who is passionately pursuing a lost world; we do this with one another,through worship, by the word, to the world. skip heitzig: we had this week a board meeting,a board of directors meeting here, and i asked one of our members to stay and to do our wednesdaynight service. and he is someone who used to be on staff here, and he pastors his ownchurch up in the denver, colorado, area. now when i was a boy, which was a long time ago,when i was in junior high school, they call it mid-high around here, i met gino. we rantrack together. and i ran, like, the 880. and i think, gino, you ran the 50- or the100-yard dash. and i actually won the california state championship in those---in that scholasticera. but it was all downhill after that. we

got into a lot of trouble together until thelord god a hold of our life. and i've told you my testimony before, howi came to know the lord by watching dr. billy graham on television, but what is importantin this is that the first one to really share the gospel with me was gino. he came to christon a saturday night. that saturday we had done drugs together in his house, and thenthe very next day on sunday he told me that i needed to repent of my sins because i wasgoing to hell. and i just did not compute. and i thought, "nobody can change that quickly.you have no right," and i was---i wasn't kind to him that day. and but, anyway, the lordgot a hold of our lives. but when i met gino and we grew up and we went to high schooltogether, so i've known him since junior high,

but he was actually his class president inhigh school. that's gino in high school when he graduatedand his picture is still up on the wall. but then he became a part of my staff, and thisis how big my staff was at that time. there's gino there in the corner. and that was ourstaff of this church, and i think i actually had other stand-ins as well just to make thestaff look bigger for this staff picture. but that was a long time ago, and gino wason this staff for about seven years. and he---because he was in town, he's back to give us the wordof god. so please give a warm welcome to gino geraci. gino, come on up. [applause] pastor gino geraci: hi there. i was lookingat that picture and i looked at the mustache.

it was the eighties and we all wanted to looklike tom selleck. [laughter] do you know why so many italian men love mustaches? it's sothey can look like their mom. [laughter] my mom's in heaven now. [laughter] she's notgoing to hear this tape. lord, please don't whisper it in her ear. [laughter] it's sogreat to be here. i remember the very first time skip and i walked into this building.the carpet didn't look like alien crop circles, it was full-on astroturf. the ceiling thatyou see was a kind of canvas that had been filled with holes, because this was an indoortennis court. but when skip looked at this, he had a visionof this stage and these chairs and an unfolding work that god was going to do. you know, weoften use the word "vision" euphemistically.

we think of it in terms of---how are we goingto do what we want to get done? but skip knew that "vision" was way more than that. it wasthe ability to see god in the circumstances and trust him. and you know, you've had afaithful pastor, and i've had a faithful friend, and you are most fortunate. so congratulations,church. [applause] turn in your bibles to mark, chapter 6. tonight we're going to lookat verses 45 through 52 in a message i'm entitling "the servant's assurance in the storm," "theservant's assurance in the storm." let's pray. heavenly father, again, what a privilege itis to be able to come here, to love you, and to sing songs of how gracious you are andhow wonderful you are. and, heavenly father, how you've given us that opportunity to repentand you've given us the opportunity to demonstrate

care and compassion. and, lord, you've givenus the opportunity in humility and dependence to trust you. and, heavenly father, again,i pray for that man who's here tonight, and the woman who's here tonight, that young personwho's here tonight, and there's a fierce storm raging. the wind is howling. the waves arehigh. there's a bitter chill against their soul. heavenly father, i pray that by yourholy spirit, lord, you would give them comfort and hope and that, lord, you really wouldbe that refuge in time of need, in jesus' name, amen. mark, chapter 6, beginning in verse 45 itsays: immediately he made his disciples get intothe boat and go before him to the other side,

to bethsaida, while he sent the multitudeaway. and when he had sent them away, he departed to the mountain to pray. now when eveningcame, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and he was alone on the land. then he sawthem straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. now about the fourth watch ofthe night he came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. and whenthey saw him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and they cried out; for theyall saw him and were troubled. but immediately he talked with them and said to them, "beof good cheer! it is i; do not be afraid." then he went up into the boat to them, andthe wind ceased. and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.for they had not understood about the loaves,

because their heart was hardened. for those of you who have gone through thisgospel of mark, you know that in verses 1 through 6 you get an opportunity to know theservant and who is jesus and to share the servant's message in verses 7 through 13.there's an opportunity to repent in verses 14 through 29. there's an opportunity to demonstratecare and compassion in verses 30 through 44. but now mark is presenting this opportunityfor everyone to grow in faith and to grow in dependence and humility to jesus the servant.in john's gospel we're told that the feeding of the five thousand, the people at that pointhad sought to make jesus king in john chapter 6 verse 15. and it could very well be thatthe twelve were thinking, "well, this is great

that we're going to make jesus king." but jesus refuses to simply be a temporalking who will meet temporal needs, and jesus refuses to be a temporal king in your life,meeting temporal needs in your life. you may be thinking, "i need jesus to help me today."but i'm here to tell you jesus wants to help you forever. it isn't just about today, it'sabout next month and next year. jesus will send the disciples away and he will go toa remote mountain to pray. and the howling winds and the gathering clouds indicated thatthe storm was on the way. and jesus was about to test the apostles' faith. and for someof you, that might alarm you. it might concern you. it might even discourage you. "you meanjesus will test my faith?" yeah.

"you mean jesus will examine my heart andmy thinking and my life and my ministry? you mean jesus will test my faith to see thatit's real?" yes. do you think he tests your faith because he doesn't know the truth aboutyour life or your heart? that's not the reason why he tests your faith. he tests it for yourbenefit. you see, the truth is some of you wonder what's really going on in your life,and what's really going on in your heart, and what's really going on in your relationshipwith the lord. you'll remember that jonah encountered a storm because he was runningfrom god in disobedience. but the disciples will head straight into a storm, not out ofdisobedience, but out of obedience. and mark's gospel, as told to mark by peter,leaves out that kind of embarrassing episode

of peter walking on the water and then sinkingin the water. and i don't blame him. the story peter chooses to tell mark records the failureof all the disciples to understand the meaning of the storm, and the power of jesus to deliverin the storm, and how to learn the lessons that would prepare the disciples for a lifetimeof ministry. we seldom welcome hardship or depravation. normally, we don't choose trialsand storms. and some of us live under the illusion that there is no storm, there isno problem, there is no trial that will get the best of us, that our fathers surviveda civil war and two world wars and a major depression. and some of you have survived broken promisesand broken hearts and broken dreams. and it's

been a long time since i've been here, andsome of you have grown up and gotten married and divorced. some of you have experiencedterrible trials and deep difficulties. some of us started off life and started off ministryin the hopes that we would be able to help people in need, and people who were hurting,and people who were broken. and then we discovered that we were the one who was hurt and we werethe one who was broken. and it never seemed like that was how it was going to turn out. some of us believe that the power and resourcesavailable to us---apart from jesus, apart from his grace, apart from his mercy, apartfrom the gospel---are sufficient to carry us, to meet any challenge, to bear any burden,defy any ill will that may blow against us,

and it's not true. we need christ. we needhis love. we need his grace. we need his presence. there once was a king, a danish conquerornamed canute, and he felt his powers and his resources and his will were invincible. andone day a group of inner-circle admirers were flattering the pompous king. and to demonstratehis power, he ordered that his throne and the entourage be taken to the seashore. andthe tide was rolling in and it was threatening to drown the group. and in the most regal voice he could muster,he said, "cease!" and you probably realize it, any of you who have been the atlanticor the pacific, the wave crashed right on top of him. because guess what? the wavesdon't obey you. and then he told his flatters,

"behold how small is the might of kings!"and whether we like it or not, there are certain things, there are certain things, there arecertain things that will not yield to your control. about five weeks ago my mother died.last week, about one week and two days, my brother died here who lived in moriarty. andso, you can imagine, it's been a time of great pain and great sorrow for our family. it'sbeen a storm. but, yet, there's an invitation that's given to us in this text, and it's.are we willing to meet the lord in the storm? are you willing to trust the lord in the storm?if anything good can be said about a storm, if there's anything noble that can be saidabout a storm, it's that storms change us, and humble us, and cause us to depend on thelord. and it shatters the illusion that we're

in control. and for some of us it's finances,and some of us it's health, and some of it's our business, and some of it's our children,and for some of us it's our country, and for some of us it's ourselves. and if we seekassurance from anyone or everyone, that everything will be fine, and we discover that the promisesand the resources can be exhausted, and that they can't be resisted or repelled. and soin this passage there's five insights that will help us navigate the storm. and the first insight that he gives, markgives, in this story is he reminds us that it is jesus who sometimes sets us in the storm.he set you there (in verses 45 through 47). but he doesn't just simply set you there,he sees you there (in verse 48). he will come

to you in the storm (at the end of verse 48).he will speak to you in the storm if you're willing to listen. and then he'll safely deliveryou in the storm. look again at verse 45. "immediately he made his disciples get intothe boat and go before him to the other side, to bethsaida, while he sent the multitudeaway." the "immediately" comes in light of everything that's already been spoken of inthis chapter. and the verb translated "made" is an interesting word in the original language.it's anagkazã³. it basically means to compel by force. and the urgency seems to come from john 6:15,the people's attempt to make jesus the king by force. and jesus didn't want his disciplesinvolved with believing this false political

movement which attempts to make jesus a kingon their terms, according to their plans. and you know what? sometimes jesus will placeyou in a storm because you're making him something that he's not. he doesn't want to be a superficialfriend. he doesn't want to be just a guy who shows up in time of great distress or greatproblems. he wants to walk with you and be with you. there seems to be two kinds of storms:there are correcting storms and there are perfecting storms. and both are intended tobring us from a place of immaturity to maturity, to bring us from a place of insecurity tosecurity. the head grows by taking in knowledge, butthe heart grows by giving out grace and mercy and love. in mark 6:46 it says, "and whenhe had sent them away, he departed to the

mountains to pray." and so you'll begin byunderstanding that it was jesus who placed them there. you know, sometimes we run fromthe storm. but sometimes jesus will make you get into a particular boat and go in a particulardirection. and you'll note, even in verse 46, jesus will pray. and as jesus prays bothfor himself and the disciples---remember earlier the---he had fed the multitudes with fiveloaves and two tiny fish. and the people thought jesus might make the perfect king---no taxes,unlimited food. jesus fed a vast crowd with small resources. jesus would have been theperfect leader. can you imagine having unlimited food providedby jesus, unlimited health care provided by jesus? [laughter] he can outfit an army. hecan empty a hospital. the people want to make

jesus king, a royal king, but they don't wantjesus to go to cross. they don't want him to suffer. they don't want him to die forsins. in john's gospel, chapter 6, verse 15, it says, "therefore when jesus perceived thatthey were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed again into themountain by himself alone." did you know that jesus intercedes for you right at this verymoment? according to the book of hebrews the bible says that when jesus rose from the deadand he hung out for those forty short days, he ascended into heaven. and it says he's seated at the right handof the father where he ever lives to make intercession for you. at this very momentwhen we were singing and praising the lord,

and even as your speaking or as you're hearingme speak right at this very moment, a real jesus is in a real heaven praying for you.he's interceding for you. he's speaking to the father about your circumstances and yourheart and your life. prayer defeats the devil, and prayer restores the backslider, and prayerstrengthens the saint, and prayer imparts wisdom, and prayer brings peace, and prayerkeeps you from sin, and prayer reveals the will of god. and the fact that jesus sometimessends us into difficult circumstances doesn't mean that he's abandoned us or forsaken us. and sometimes you feel that way, but the biblesays exactly the opposite. it says, "he's near to the brokenhearted." he is near tothose who are crushed in spirit. he cares.

c. neil strait wrote, quote, "prayer liftsthe hearts above the battles of life and gives it a glimpse of god's resources which spellvictory and hope." why is this important to you? because if jesus set you there, and jesusis interceding for you, it becomes a type and a picture, an encouragement for us topray in the storm. and you might be praying for a change in circumstances: "lord, getme out of here." "lord, get me out of this horrible marriage." "get me out of this horriblejob." "get me out of this . . . get me out of this . . . get me out of this . . . ." butall the while the lord is wanting to change your character. it isn't just about changing the circumstance---hewants to change us. and in verse 47 it says,

"now when evening came, the boat was in themiddle of the sea; and he was alone on the land." if jesus set you there, doesn't itmake sense that he's able to keep you there? and i've often wondered, i've often wondered.why didn't the disciples simply turn around? why didn't they just give up? they're in thestorm, the wind is howling, why didn't they just say, "i'm going to quit and i'm goingto go back where i came from"? but, you know, something incredible happens when a groupof believers come together who have been placed there by jesus. and this is why it's importantfor you to be here at church. and this is why it's so important for you to be in theconnection groups. this is why it's so important for you to betogether. because guess what? when you're

in the storm, and there are three people andfour people, and you are here in this church, and you look at the person to the left ofyou and to the right of you and in back of you, and you're in the storm, and you're thinkingthat you want to give up and you want to turn back, there are people who can tell you, "jesushas placed you here, and i'll pray with you as we go through this difficult circumstance."why row contrary to the storm? why row against the wind? because they have their instructions.jesus placed them in the boat and jesus gave them instructions. and the instructions were:"go to the other side." and remember when you became a christian?some of you may have sang that song "i have decided to follow jesus, the world behindme, the cross before me." and then you said

those words, "no turning back, no turningback." and in one sense jesus has already gone before us to the other side of the shore.if you're heart belongs to jesus, if you and god are on father-and-son or father-and-daughterterms, your circumstances are known by god. they're established by god. they're governedby god. god governs our life and he orders our circumstances. he set you there, but healso sees you there. look what it says in verse 38. [v. 48] "then he saw them . . . ." i gotta tell you, in the middle of the nightif you have ever been on the galilee on one of skip's trips to the galilee, if it is pitchblack and jesus is on a nearby mountain and you are in the middle of the lake, the veryfact that jesus can see them is a miracle.

he sees them because it's supernatural. "thenhe saw them straining at the rowing, for the wind was against them. now about the fourthwatch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by."when it says that that "he saw them straining at the rowing, for the wind was against them,"or we might translate this, "he saw that they were distressed," or that "they were strainingat the oars." now think about it---they are against the wind, they're straining at theoars collectively. and some of you have cried out to god andsay, "don't you see where i am, and don't you see my circumstances? how could you notknow i'm in trouble? how could you not know about the health issue, or the financial issue,or the brokenhearted issue?" and you've prayed

to god and you go, "well, wait a minute, lord,this is isn't about me being in rebellion or disobedience, you placed me in this marriage.you placed me in this job. i'm not here out of rebellion and disobedience, i'm exactlywhere you asked me to be, and i'm trying to obey you, and go in the direction that you'vecalled me to. why is this so difficult?" know that he set you there and that he sees youthere. he sees everything. he knows everything. this is called omniscience and omnipresence. god has all power. that's called omnipotence.and because god knows all things, and because god has all power, and because he loves you,you can work in the storm, but you can also rest in the storm. by the way, are you restingin jesus in the midst of the storm? are you

trusting christ in that deep difficulty? sometimesobedience will bring straining, distress, suffering, persecution. dietrich bonhoefferobeyed god and wound up in the nazi prison camp. corrie ten boom, author of the hidingplace and dutch patriot, lost many of her family and was herself imprisoned at ravensbruckconcentration camp because of---not of her disobedience---because of her obedience tojesus. jim elliot and nate saint were young missionaries in south america and broughtthe gospel to the auca indians. one great friend of both of those people wasa man named george sanchez who finished much of his---the last chapter of his life righthere in albuquerque. and skip and i had the great privilege of being mentored by him andlistening to him and being encouraged by him

and the stories that he told. and his heartbreakingstory that when jim elliot and nate saint died that horrible death, he wept and he cried,"why would you take this most precious saint?" his obedience bought him a spear in the backand he died faced down in the water and the mud. and it's amazing to me how someone can readthe new testament or read church history and see the storms that have blown into the livesin the apostles and the saints, and neglect or ignore or pretend that there is no suchthing as hardship and difficulty. but in the new testament suffering and sacrifice wasthe rule, not the exception. in john 8:17 [romans 8:17] it says, "and if children, thenheirs---and if heirs of god, then heirs with

christ, if indeed we suffer with him, thatwe may also be glorified together." in romans 8:18 it says, "for i consider that the sufferingsof this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealedin us." in first peter chapter 2 verse 21, peter writes, "for to this were you called,because christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in hissteps." and sometimes you're going to get the unwelcomenews about the unwelcome illness or the unwelcome setback, but the lord knows you. the lordsees you. he is not blind, and he's not impotent, and he's not uncaring. he loves you and hewatches you. and watch as he comes to the disciples in the storm. look at the end ofverse 48. he comes to you in the storm. look

what it says: "now about the fourth watchof the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by." the fourthwatch, by the way, took place between three o'clock in the morning and six o'clock inthe morning. remember how our passage started. he placed them, he forced them into the boatwhen the sun went down. they have been rowing, they have been rowing,they have struggling, they have been struggling. and remember, it's now---it's the darkesttime of the night. and jesus will often come, not at the brightest time, but at the darkestmoment. often when it seems helpless, god will show up in the most remarkable way, likedaniel in the lions' den, or the three hebrew children in the fiery furnace. it's oftenwhen you see the lions' teeth or you feel

the searing heat, that's when the lord showsup. and the disciples are tired and they're afraid. and i also want you to understandsomething---because they're tired and afraid, does that mean that jesus doesn't love them?does it take away the fact that he set them there, or that he sees them, or that he caresabout them? they are tired and they are afraid. and guesswhat? their strength is gone. and you probably know someone who said to you not too longago: "i don't know that i can go on. i don't know that i can do this even one more houror one more day. i don't know that i can do it." they've exhausted their resources. thewind and the water continue to bite their face. how like jesus to come when all hopeseems gone, all light seems gone, and you

simply don't even have the strength to liftthe oars out of the water and put them back into the water. and look what it says in verse49 and 50. he speaks to them in the storm. look what it says: "and when they saw himwalking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and they cried out." this last time when i was in israel and wehad---like skip, we were able to take a bunch of people---and we had a bunch of people onthe sea of galilee. we had three boats tied together. and i said, "there's a thing, it'scalled 'jerusalem syndrome,' that for whatever reason when people sometimes take holy landtrips, all of a sudden, yes, the bible comes alive, but sometimes people think odd andweird thoughts." they go, "jesus wants me

to step out the boat and walk on the water."[laughter] and so i remind them that, yes, jesus walked on the water, but most of thetime he took a boat. and in this impossible situation, jesus does the impossible---hewalks on the water. and, by the way, the ancient egyptians wrote in a script with symbols.and some of you know it's called hieroglyphics. and two symbols included waves, which representedwater, and two tiny feet walking on that water. in the egyptian language that spells the word"impossible." jesus is going to do the impossible. jesus does the impossible---he walks on thevery object of what the disciples fear the most. remember, what's going on? it's a storm.where are they at? they're in the middle of a big lake. what's going on, on that lakeif they go over? they could drown. and you

see, you sometimes think that the thing thatis causing me the most harm, the most difficulty, the thing that can hurt me, maybe even thething that could kill me, jesus takes control of it. jesus will often come to us and speakto us on the very thing that we fear the most. "i could lose my job. i could get sick. somethinghorrible could happen." but let me ask you a question: have you ever had jesus come toyou in an illness? in financial distress? in loneliness? in failure? what you fear mostmay become what god will use to come to you, and comfort you, and remind you that you canlove him and depend upon him. jesus comes at the darkest hour. and he comes when thestrength and the hope are gone. and he comes and then he does what is impossible. and hecomes on the very object that we are the most

terrified. there was a christian captain ofan oceangoing vessel. he was in the midst of this terrific storm. and, terrified, oneof the passengers cried out and said, "what are we going to do if the ship sinks?" and the captain said, "i don't know aboutyou, but i'm going to be embraced into the everlasting arms of captain jesus." [laughter]and that's exactly right. in verse 50 look what it says: "for they all saw him and theywere troubled. but immediately he talked with them and said to them, 'be of good cheer!it is i; don't be afraid.' "isn't this interesting, he sets them in the storm, he sees them inthe storm, and now he speaks to them? he speaks to them. in verse 50 where it says, "for theysaw him and they were troubled," the word

is the greek word tarassã³. it can mean "terrified."why didn't they recognize jesus? because you don't expect to see your friend walking onthe water. you don't expect that. you don't expect to see jesus show up. many years ago there was a movie based onrod serling's hit tv series the twilight zone, which featured this episode with a guy namedjohn lithgow. and he plays this nauseated and terrified passenger, where his worst fearsare realized when he peers out of the porthole of the airplane and there's this figure screamingat the top of his lungs, his eyes bulging. and by the way, when you are in a terrifyingsituation, the last thing in the world you want to hear is terrifying laughter and screaming.but jesus brings words of comfort and hope:

"be of good cheer! it is i: don't be afraid."there was a gigantic storm that hit in 2005, hurricane katrina. maybe some of you are familiarwith it. it pounded the gulf coast and it landed in new orleans where my father andsome of my relatives live. and my father, he's that italian guy. my father'sfrom sicily. and my father is like a skeptic. he doesn't believe that no matter how badthe storm---you can imagine people getting on tv: "this is biggest storm of the century."[speaking in strong italian accent] "ah, forget about that. forget about it. i've been throughstorms." [laughter] "dad, this is going to be, like, a big storm." "fo---man, i've beenthrough---i can't even tell you. i've been through the worst storms ever." "dad, youneed to listen to what they're saying." and

then it got closer and closer and closer,and my father realized this is something really unlike anything that he had ever seen. andhe got into his car and he began to drive, and he began to think, "i'm going to run awayfrom the storm." but he wound up taking a route through mississippi,through hattiesburg, mississippi, and unbeknownst to him he was driving right in front of thestorm. and my father---i'm not saying he's in the mafia or anything like that, but onhis income tax return he basically puts "legitimate businessman." [laughter] and i go, "dad, that'sjust wrong. that's like an invitation to have your taxes audited." "it's true, it's 100percent legit." [laughter] he's the silk-suit, diamond-pinky-ring kind of a guy. and he'sdriving and he's driving and he's driving,

and he finds himself in unknown territory.and he finds himself in a place where he thought he would never be---inside of a shelter. thinkof robert de niro in a shelter. [laughter] and my uncle went looking for my father, andhe goes to the shelter, and there's a little italian guy in an immaculate silk suit sittingon a cot. jesus brings words of comfort and hope. look at what he says in the storm: "itis i. be of good cheer! don't be afraid." by the way, when jesus shows up in the storm,rarely will he say, "it's time to panic." [laughter] i can't imagine him doing that.the words of jesus---by the way, it's the words of jesus that make all the differencein the world when you are in the midst of the storm, the words of jesus. when the stormis raging, it's not a ghost, it's not an angel

who comes in the storm, the servant comes.it's the servant who speaks. and look what he speaks. he speaks god's word and it's wordsof comfort and hope. and if it's been a while since you've heardthe savior's voice, if it's been a while since you've heard the savior speak in the storm,there are two scriptures that have served me well in life's storms. in romans chapter15 verse 4, it says, "for whatever things were written before were written for our learning,that we through the patience and the comfort of the scriptures might have hope." "now maythe god of hope," it says chapter 15 of romans, "now may the god of hope fill you with joyand peace and believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy spirit."it's god's word that speaks to us in the storm.

and some of you---and i know it's alreadyhappened---some of you, you might be tempted, because you're in the storm, and you're thinking,"i can't go to church, i'm in the middle of a storm. i can't cry out to god, i'm in themiddle of a storm." i gotta tell you, that's not the time to run away from the lord, runaway from fellowship, run away from mutual prayer, run away from encouragement. god'sword will speak to us in the storm and when times are difficult, the worst thing, theworst thing, the worst thing that you can do is cut yourself off from the resourcesthat you need the most. it's when you get that phone call. it's when you get that diagnosis.it's okay for you to get on the phone. it's okay to talk to the people in your connectiongroups.

it's okay to talk to the people and say, "couldyou put me on the prayer chain?" it's okay to reach out and receive hope. and look whatit says---he safely delivers you in the storm. look what it says in verses 51 and 52: "thenhe went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. he went up into the boat, andthe wind ceased. and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled."in modern language we might say, like raul does, [imitating raul ries] "their minds werecompletely blown." [laughter] actually, that's kind of an accurate translation: the mindthat was frozen by fear and disconnected through fatigue. not only did jesus come to them walkingon the water, but when he got into the boat, the wind ceased and the storm disappeared.

and john's gospel adds an additional commentat this point. in john 6:21 it says, "then they willing received him into the boat, andimmediately the boat was on land where they were going." there were two miracles thattook place. not only did jesus walk on the water, but the storm ceased and somehow supernaturallythe boat was transferred to the exact opposite shore where it needed to be. when jesus deliversin the storm, when jesus delivers in the storm, he delivers in the storm. matthew chapter14 verse 33 adds this additional fact, it says: "then those who were in the boat worshipedhim, and said, 'truly you're the son of god.' "in verse 52 it says, "for they had not understoodabout the loaves, because their heart was hardened."

i want you to understand what's happened.jesus has delivered them. they've grown in their faith. in the first storm episode theycried, "what manner of man is this, that even the winds obey him!" now there's no mistake.they're starting to do the math. they're starting to add it all up---the loaves, the fish, thepeople who were healed, the people who were cleansed from leprosy, the people who wereraised from the dead. all of a sudden it's all starting to add up---jesus is somethingmore than an ordinary rabbi from the galilee. he's god. and perhaps the words written injob came to their remembrance. in job chapter 9 verses 8 through 11 it says,"he alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. he's the maker ofthe bear and the orion, and the pleiades and

the constellations of the south. he performedwonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be numbered. when he passes me,i cannot see him; when he goes by, i cannot perceive him." but when you walk out of thisbuilding tonight and you look at the sandias, it's jesus who formed those mountains. whenyou look up into the sky, it's jesus who placed the stars in the heavens. and as remarkableas all that is, there's something even far more remarkable---his ability not just toforgive your sin, but to destroy it, not to just simply deliver you from the penalty ofsin, but to deliver you from the power of sin as it continues to lay waste to your life. and then one day jesus promises to deliveryou from the very presence of sin. you're

going to go to heaven. at my mother's funerali said jesus' favorite expression for heaven was "my father's house." and the most importantthing about heaven isn't that the gates are made of pearl or that the streets are madeof gold, the most important thing about heaven is that jesus is there. heaven isn't justsimply a place where you go when you die---it's a person that you meet when you get there.and people who rarely think about heaven or rarely talk about heaven probably aren't goingto heaven. but it's not too late for you to begin the conversation. you see, this stormbrought them a new understanding about their friend jesus. and sometimes that painful, painful situationthat you found yourself in will bring you

to a deeper commitment to the servant. andwhat i'm going to suggest to you is that maybe you think carefully about allowing the stormsof life to bring you into a closer more intimate relationship with the lord. you know, we havelimited assurances in this life alone, but we have multiple assurances from jesus. whatare the circumstances of your life right now? well, again, tell jesus about the pain. tellhim about the trial. tell him about the suffering. he set you there. he sees you there. he willcome to you there. he will defy hell and death and come to you in the storm. and if you listen,if you listen, if you listen, if you'll open up god's word and you will read it, he willspeak to you in the storm. and your family and your friends may mockyou, and your relatives may jeer you. and

someone might say to you, "it's time to giveup. it's time to give up. it's time to give up on your marriage. it's time to give upon church. it's time to give up on the lord." just remember jesus in the most extreme pressureand the mocking of others will stay the course and he'll submit to his father's will. deliverancemay not take the form that you desire, but the servant will deliver you on his terms.death for christians is never---death for christians is never a hopeless end, but ratherit's the beginning of an endless hope. "blessed assurance, jesus is mine . . . ," you knowthe song. kent hughes made this remarkable observation,he said, quote: "if we're obedient to christ, there's going to be plenty of storms. there'sgoing to be danger. there's going to be difficulty.

there's going to be weariness. there's goingto be exposure. there's going to be anxiety. there's going to be dread. there's going tobe sadness. we will be open to an index of sorrows and stresses which are unknown tothe uncommitted heart. the unbeliever doesn't have to have their faith tested, because theydon't have faith. but take cheer---christ prays for us, even while we're in the storm.he comes to us in the midst of the gale, treading on the problems that afflict us," unquote.i want to leave you with this little prose: sometimes we must be hurt in order to grow, we must fail in order to know, we must lose in order to gain,

some lessons are learned best only throughpain. sometimes our vision clears, only after our eyes are washed with tears. and sometimes we have to be broken, so we can be tender; sick, so we can rest and think better on things more important than work or fun; trip near death, so we can assess how farwe've run. sometimes we have to suffer lack,

so we can know god's provisions. feel another's pain, so we can have a sense of mission. so take heart, my friend, if you don't understand today, instead of grumbling, ask god what he meansto say. [why pray? because prayer is always betterthan complaining.] in order to learn, you must endure and learn to see the bigger picture.

in order to grow, you must stand look beyond the hurt, to god's loving hand. that takes what is good and gives what is best and on this blessed thought: rest. as your anxious heart, with questions: wait. god's hand only gives, what his loving heartdictates. he knows all about it. you know, my granny,before she died, the tv would come on. it was a campbell's soup commercial. they'd say,"stir up the campbell's, soup is good food."

and my granny would go, [imitating granny]"soup ain't good food. soup's what you eat when you ain't got good food." [laughter]sometimes you just have to talk back to the voices that are telling you things, that youcan't know him, you can't love him, and you can't trust him. you can know him. you canlove him. you can trust him. let me pray for you. heavenly father, i pray for these men andwomen. lord, if they're not in the storm, lord, i anticipate that a storm is coming.and for some of them, the storm has already blown by. but in the end, lord, we pray notjust for a change of circumstances, but for a change of heart, change of heart. lord,we pray that you would address those holes,

those deficiencies, those character flawsthat would cause us to run instead of embrace you, that would cause us to trust our fearinstead of trust our lord. and, lord, i pray for each and every person here, that you wouldfill them with the knowledge of your goodness and love and grace and mercy, that's there'sa wonderful plan and there's a wonderful destination. and that if jesus set us there, and gave usinstructions to go to the other side, that he'll do exactly that, he'll accomplish whateverit takes to supernaturally deliver us to the destination where we belong, in jesus' name,amen. god bless you guys.

walter dietrich samuel,skip heitzig: amen. closing: what binds us together is devotionto worshiping our heavenly father, dedication

to studying his word, and determination toproclaim our eternal hope in jesus christ. for more teachings from calvary albuquerqueand skip heitzig visit calvaryabq.org.